It has been almost 2 weeks since four year old Kara Hartrich was killed. No major city outlets have picked up the story in Chicago or St. Louis. No national news outlets have reported this story. But there is an update.

The owners of the dogs relinquished ownership of the pit bulls allowing McClean county animal control to humanely euthanize them after a ten day rabies hold. All three pit bulls were put down. Two intact males were determined to have participated in the attack, but it could not be determined whether the female also participated.

No charges will be brought because an investigation turned up no documented history of attacks.

CINewsNow reported in a news report that they had to submit a Freedom of Information request to obtain information about this pit bull attack. This is a common necessity when reporting on pit bull attacks in Illinois. In 2011, the Rockford Star filed a freedom of information request with animal control to get verification that the dogs that killed their owner, Tonia C. Parks, were pit bulls. In both cases, updated versions of the story deleted the mention of the freedom of information request.

CINewsNow, news reported that Kara's death was the second death due to pit bulls within a year (presumably in Illinois). They are wrong. Kara is the third child killed by a pit bull in Illinois within 10 months. On March 3, 2013, Ryan Maxwell was killed in Galesburg, IL. And just over a month before Kara was killed, Jah'Niyah White was killed by her grandfather's pit bull in Chicago on December 8, 2013.

CINewsNow's report uses 90 words to incorrectly report on the pit bull mauling deaths in Illinois and then proceeds to use 290 words to explain that pit bulls are great! And then they quote the Peoria County Animal Control director as saying that Kara, who was supervised in her own home, simply "was in the wrong circumstances at the wrong time."

The reporting in Illinois is so inadequate that a fatal pit bull attack barely makes the news, and serious pit bull attacks that end with a police shooting in a suburban residential neighborhood do not make it into the news at all.

Fatal attacks and non-fatal maiming attacks by pit bulls are skyrocketing in recent years, not just in Illinois, but across North America. But, without adequate reporting in Illinois, residents are are unaware of the dangers pit bull pose and are especially vulnerable.

With the escalation of pit bull attacks, people who have experienced serious attacks or lost a loved one to an attack are beginning to speak out about the dangers, some of them owned the pit bulls that attacked or killed. People are beginning to realize that even well-raised pit bulls launch unprovoked, serious or lethal attacks.

Two 501(c)3 foundations have been formed by families whose child was killed by a pit bull in 2013. Their goals are to educate and change laws regarding pit bulls and other dangerous dogs.

The Baby Beau foundation was founded by the mother of Beau Rutlege. His family owned a pit bull named Kissy Face for 8 years. Kissy Face was part of the family as the Rutlege's first child was born and grew. In an instant, Beau Rutlege was killed by the family pet.

UPDATE: The pit bull "bit her teeth out her mouth and he bit her by the neck and right now she's still in the hospital," said Williemae Jackson, Latara's Aunt.

A local pit bull advocacy group was asked to say that pit bulls aren't aggressive despite the evidence to the contrary, which they happily did, but women who saw how their children were attacked don't believe it for a second.

"This dog could have killed our kids," said Jackson.

"They had to shoot the dog five times to get him to stop. If my husband wasn't out there the dog would have killed the lady or her daughter if I wouldn't have saved my son, my son would have been dead," said Carranza.

Chicago - A loose pit bull attacked 11 year old Cirpriana Carranza while he was taking out the trash. When Daisy got the pit bull off her son, the pit bull ran down the street and jumped on 12 year old Latara Scott who was walking with her family.

Victims
11-year old Cirpriana left, 12-year old Latara right

Both mothers describe serious wounds to their child's faces. Daisy Carranza pried the pit bull's jaws off her son's face, and she cannot stop hearing her child's screams replaying in her head. Willie Mae Jackson described her daughter's attack as something out of a movie, "He just went completely berserk."

"She has a hole up underneath of her chin, a cut beneath her lip...a hole in the back side of her neck."

Police arrived and shot the pit bull after the pit bull jumped on a woman who was trying to help.

Latara is still hospitalized.

Sadly, pit bulls are ravaging Chicago and the most unique aspect of this pit bull attack is that it was reported at all.

Chicago - Channel 7 ABC news reported on a dangerous stray pit bull attack on a woman and her dog without acknowledging that the attacking strays were pit bulls.

The stray pit bulls had been around the neighborhood for several days and several neighbors called animal control, some more than once, but animal control did nothing until after the pit bulls mauled a dog and attacked a woman. Chicago Animal Care and Control is very willing to promote pit bulls and refuses to do their job and protect people from pit bulls.

How many attacks have to occur before the Chicago media acknowledges that Chicago has a grave pit bull attack problem that they are duty-bound to report to protect Chicagoans?

CHICAGO –A South Chicago man allegedly stabbed his wife’s pit bull to death Friday after the dog intervened in a physical fight between the couple. The wife has not been cooperative with investigators.

UPDATE: The four year old girl has been identified as Kara E. Hartrich. McClean County coroner found that she died of massive blood loss after she was bitten by at least two of the family pit bulls.
The reporting from the local news outlet describes dog attacks as rare in Bloomington despite the recent severe pit bull mauling of a couple in 2012 who were delivering phone books and despite the fact that there have been attempts and proposals made to ban pit bulls since 2005.

Bloomington - Family pit bulls killed a four year old girl. First responders said the girl had multiple bites. She was taken to Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal where she was pronounced dead.

THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES

AND

ILLINOIS LEGISLATORS HAVE NO EXCUSES

Bloomington has had several serious pit bull attacks and a nearby recent fatality in recent years. Last year, 2013, the city government opted to do nothing to address the pit bull problem and enacted a dangerous dog ordinance will not in any way stop serious and fatal pit bull attacks. The year before that, 2012, the city council looked at dog control ordinances after a pit bull attack and did nothing. Shame on them. We need elected officials in Illinois to stand up to interest groups and do what's right. Cities around Illinois are grappling with pit bull attacks but none have done anything to protect children, innocent people and pets from pit bulls.

Williamson Co - Tanya Holland pled guilty to charges after her loose pit bull mix breed dogs severely mauled 5 year old Winston Bankston at Bush Village Park in August 2010. Reporting does not include an update on how Winston is doing.